Harry Miller; Insurance Executive

Harry O. Miller, key financial backer of the Proposition 101 insurance initiative and president of the bankrupt Coastal Insurance Co., has died. He was 59.

Miller died of cancer March 30 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield, Wis., his wife, Sally, said Saturday. He lived in Beverly Hills and at the time of his death was in private law practice, representing the insurance industry.

Miller, a deputy California insurance commissioner during the administration of Gov. Ronald Reagan, headed Coastal Insurance Co. and its parent, Advent Management Co., until they were found to be $40 million in the red and placed under conservatorship in 1989. The insurance company declared bankruptcy.

Miller blamed the company’s problems on bad management and undercharging Los Angeles and other urban customers, but denied accusations of a conspiracy to skim funds from Coastal.

Often considered a maverick in the insurance industry, Miller contributed or loaned $5.2 million as the major backer of the Proposition 101 campaign in 1988 designed to curb insurance rates. Miller strongly opposed no-fault automobile insurance proposals sponsored by other insurance executives.

A native of Wisconsin who received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Miller moved to Los Angeles in 1959. He had been a senior partner in the Beverly Hills law firm of Miller & Daar , a senior vice president of the Executive Life Insurance Co., and the manager of group pensions of Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Co. of Los Angeles.

In addition to his wife, Miller is survived by two sons and four daughters, a brother and two sisters, and seven grandchildren.

A memorial service is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Trinity Lutheran Church, 4101 E. Nohl Road, Anaheim.

The family has asked that any memorial contributions be made to that church or to the Marshfield Medical Research Foundation, 1000 N. Oak Ave., Marshfield, Wis. 54449 for cancer research.